Ž . International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 67 1999 147155 Article Plasma lipid concentrations in pre-eclamptic and normotensive Peruvian women S. Ware-Jauregui a , S.E. Sanchez b , C. Zhang a , G. Laraburre c , I.B. King d , M.A. Williams a,d,e,  a Department of Epidemiology, Uni  ersity of Washington, School of Public Health and Community Medicine Seattle, WA, USA b Dos de Mayo Hospital, Lima, Peru c Materno-Perinatal Institute, Lima, Peru d Di  isions of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA e Center for Perinatal Studies, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA Received 28 May 1999; received in revised form 13 August 1999; accepted 1 September 1999 Abstract Objecti  es: Dyslipidemia is thought to be of etiological importance in pre-eclampsia. We studied the relationship between maternal plasma lipid concentrations and risk of pre-eclampsia. Methods: A total of 125 pre-eclampsia cases and 179 normotensive control subjects were included in this case-control study conducted in Lima, Peru, between August 1997 and January 1998. Postdiagnosis, antepartum plasma lipid profiles were determined by standard Ž . enzymatic methods. Logistic regression procedures were used to calculate odds ratios OR adjusted for potential confounders. Results: Mean plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were, on average, 6% and 21% Ž . higher in pre-eclamptics than controls, respectively. High-density lipoprotein HDL cholesterol concentrations were, on average, 9% lower in cases than controls. After adjusting for maternal age, prepregnancy body mass index, education, parity and other potential confounders, the risk of pre-eclampsia increased with successively higher Ž quartiles of plasma triglyceride adjusted OR: 1.00, 1.62, 2.21, 5.00, with the lowest quartile as referent; P-value for . trend 0.001 . The association between pre-eclampsia risk and plasma total cholesterol was much less pronounced. Ž In general, there was an inverse association between pre-eclampsia risk and HDL cholesterol concentration adjusted . OR: 1.00, 0.41, 0.50, 0.38, with the first quartile as the referent group; P-value for trend 0.02 . Conclusions: These  Corresponding author. Department of Epidemiology, Box 357236, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Tel.: 1-206-543-8225; fax: 1-206-543-8525. Ž . E-mail address: mwilliam@u.washington.edu M.A. Williams 0020-729299$20.00  1999 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Ž . PII: S 0 0 2 0 - 7 2 9 2 99 00161-7